The optical resolution of any conventional telescope is limited by the diffraction limits for the lenses comprising the telescope. The diffraction limit of an optical system defines the theoretical maximum performance of the system for a given wavelength of light. For a telescope having a lens of diameter, a, and focal length, f, the diffraction limit, d, can be expressed as:
                    d        =                  1.22          ⁢                                          ⁢                                    f              ⁢                                                          ⁢              λ                        a                                              Eq        .                                  ⁢        1            
where λ is the wavelength of the incident light.
As seen in Equation 1, the diffraction limit decreases with decreasing wavelength and/or increasing diameter. Accordingly, for an optical system designed for a given wavelength, the limiting factors on the system performance are the size of the lenses in the optical system and the focal length of the lens. It will be appreciated, however, that there are practical limitations to the maximum size of a telescope lens. Accordingly, the maximum performance of an optical system is limited by currently available materials and fabrication techniques.